Mandasor silk weavers' inscription
Also called: Mandsaur inscription, Mandasor inscription · Topic: Society in Early India: Kinship, Varna-Jati, Women · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 5 "State and Society up to 1000 CE"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Kinship, Caste and Class - Early Societies"
Meaning
The Mandasor inscription is a 5th-century CE Sanskrit record from Mandasor (ancient Dashapura) in Madhya Pradesh. Class 9 dates it to 473 CE. It tells the story of a shreni, a guild of silk weavers. It matters because it shows that people could move to new places, change jobs and still stay together as one community.
Example
The silk weavers moved from Lata (Gujarat) to Dashapura because they had heard good things about its king. Some members took up other work, such as music, storytelling, astrology and soldiering. Even so, the guild together paid for a splendid temple to the Sun god.
Don't confuse with
- Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman: a 2nd-century CE record from Gujarat. It tells of the Shaka ruler repairing Sudarshana lake, not of a guild.